LAS VEGAS — It was within the first two years of Isaac Bonga seriously taking up basketball that his youth coach started sending the 9-year-old videos of players he thought he could emulate. The one he remembers clearest, the one he’s watched the most, showed a 6-foot-9 point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers.

“I always have that one highlight video from him in my mind,” Bonga said Sunday afternoon, “with the California sun in the background.”

Bonga sat with his own 6-9 frame origamied into the booth of a cafe on the Las Vegas strip. The 39th pick in last month’s draft, the 18-year-old made his debut at the NBA’s Summer League the night before, scoring three points in 14 minutes. He finished with zero assists and seven turnovers. On Sunday, he finished with four points and four turnovers in 16 minutes.

Whether he’s a point guard or a playmaking small forward will be sorted out eventually, but when the trade that sent Bonga to the Lakers...